After a three-game absence with soreness in his side, Martinez’s return lasted seven trips to the plate before he re-aggravated the injury on a swing partway through Friday night’s game.

Now, he expects he’ll be out until the start of the Dodgers series on Tuesday.

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“The way I’m feeling right now, I don’t see it happening. No,” Martinez said about the possibility of taking Saturday off, and facing Tampa Bay Rays left-hander David Price on Sunday.

Martinez originally hurt it on one swing in the final game in Houston last weekend — “One swing is all it takes,” he said — and aggravated it again on one swing in his final at-bat against Tampa’s Alex Cobb in the sixth inning.

Rajai Davis pinch hit for him in the eighth.

Martinez was also hit by a pitch in the fourth inning, but that had nothing to do with his removal from the game.

“The chances of him playing tomorrow (Saturday) are almost nil at this point, and then we’ll just go day to day after that,” said manager Brad Ausmus, who has been as cautious as possible, especially since it’s been harder for Martinez to swing from the left side than the right.

“Two days ago, if they had a righty pitching, he probably wouldn’t have started. He didn’t feel it as much from the right side. Today, he said he felt good from both sides. His BP was good. His first few at-bats were good. But I guess in that same way, he re-aggravated it, so we’re just going to have to be more cautious now.”

How concerned is Martinez?

“This is nothing major. I need time to get back to like I’m used to,” Martinez said.

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 18 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.